A Family
by MillyOnFanfics
Summary: Family. Something foreign to Jack Frost, until he met the Guardians. The Guardians have to adjust to having a fifth member, and to being the family that Jack so desperately needs.
1. Chapter 1: Ice Carving

A Family

This was hard. Jack decided for about the thousandth time in two days. He was trying to get better at remembering that no, he didn't need to sneak into The Workshop, he just had to float in through the window.

"Jack m'boy!" North shouted jovially at the winter spirit. "How you been?" He asked happily, making his way over to where Jack stood – floated – hovered, whatever.

"I've been fine North." He smiled at the jovial Santa. "You see me every week." He reminded him with a raised eyebrow. (It took him the better part of half a century to master that).

"Bah! Tis not enough time." North stated dismissively. It made Jack feel all fuzzy inside to know that someone actually wanted to see him. Him, Jack Frost, the prankster, the Sheppard of Winter, the Guardian of Fun, sharing his Guardianship with a quartet of people who liked him (though Bunny was the one who showed it in rougher ways).

"I'll try to drop by more often." Jack promised truthfully, freezing the elf that passed him, Dingle – Jack thought, "Anyway, Jamie asked me to tell you in person that he wants a plushy of each of the five of us." He briefly noted the scratching of pen on paper. "And I decided, what better way to spend time with North? So, here I am!" He finished with a flourish.

North hummed slightly as the scratching stopped with a note of finality. "Good!" North said, finally turning his attention upon the entity of Winter. "Vhat do you say to some carving, mal'chik?" Jack's eyes brightened, azure peering up at electric blue.

"That sounds awesome!" He smirked his signature lopsided smirk, "What are we carving?" He asked, imagining designs of cool new planes, beautiful snowflakes, and whatever else his mind thought up.

"Anyting toy related, mal'chik." North said. "Ve have reign free!" Jack blinked, decided he meant free reign and conjured up un-melting ice blocks ranging from the size of his palm to ice North's height.

"Here you go, North!" He said cheerfully, taking out his ice carving tools. "It doesn't melt." He added, almost as an afterthought.

North stared at him in undisguised awe. "How-? It looked so effortless, eet takes me two months to get dis block!" He exclaimed in an awe filled whisper, taking a medium sized block in his beefy fingers and examining it.

"North, you forget who you're speaking to." Jack told him in amusement. "Winter spirit, remember?" he said.

"Yes, but dis ees incredeeble!" He spoke reverently. "You are very skilled, mal'chik!" He turned his attention back to the – now blushing Jack.

"Ah, it was nothing North!" he insisted. "And besides, you must be skilled yourself, you've been doing this for longer then I have!" Jack returned to his car design, blush gone. North stared at the block again for a minute before picking out a decently sized block to make a plane and another one that he set aside for a train. "North?"

There was a hum of acknowledgement.

"… How long have you been doing this anyway?" He looked expectantly at the wondrous and wonder-filled toymaker.

"Seence de thirteenth century. " North replied absently. "De world was much different then." He said as an afterthought.

"If it wasn't, I'd be very concerned." Said Jack seriously.

They returned to their ice sculptures in companionable silence. Jack looked at his creation critically. He adjusted one or two things, neatened it up considerably and even added tiny windshield wipers.

'There!" Jack exclaimed. "How are you going, North?" He asked, staring at his father-like friend, only to see him frowning in concentration. He seemed to be muttering to himself, Jack noted. He looked at the plane and train combo, and realized what was wrong. "North, look! They're uneven!" He said.

"Ah! Dat's what vas wrong! Tank you Jack." North thanked.

"No problem North." Jack said. He waited patiently for North to correct it. North did so, and together, they rose to walk (or float, if you were Jack) around and see how the Yetis were doing.

They walked into the toy room to see a Yeti, Jack decided to name him Lester, paining some cars yellow.

As North delivered his verdict on the cars, Jack spotted the elves trying desperately to sneak up on him. Jack raised a brow again, what are you doing, you can not sneak up on me clearly written in azure eyes and pale features. The elves stopped, suddenly unsure as to why this was a good idea. This guy could freeze them with literally zero trouble. But then Jack smirked that lopsided smirk and all they were thinking about is how to get him next time.

Jack floated over to North, watching as the Santa said the okay for some red robot toys. North's eyes were filled with pride and merriment, his smile so wondrously joyous and infectious that he found himself grinning in a similar way.

The elves weren't discouraged for long, it seemed. Jack and North shared a look, knowing the elves would mess something up, and toy production would be slowed down. They walked in the direction the elves had. They saw an elf, Kringle, trying to mimic the robots that Lester was painting.

Jack snickered. North shot him a look, that look that parents give you to tell you to behave or you'd be grounded for the next week. Jack stopped snickering, instead opting to watch as a few other elves tried to back away from the room to get more supplies. "Where do you think you're going?" Jack asked in amusement. The elves pointed as one unit to the supply room. North, now that he'd put a stop to Kringle's (bad) imitation of Lester and the other Yetis work, shook his head.

The elves pouted. Who were the big man and the freezer to tell them no? Granted, the big man could be scary, and the freezer could freeze them, but they weren't the bosses! (The big man was, but the elves chose to ignore that). Jack looked at all the pouting elves who's hats were drooping. North and Jack exchanged another look, this one amused and fond. The elves looked hopefully at the two spirits. Could they do it? They wondered excitedly.

"Try not to make too big of mess, here and only here, yes?"

The elves cheered and got to work. They'd make the best robots in this place! They vowed silently. They'd show the big man AND the freezer!

Jack and North left the elves to their plotting. "Never gets boring with them around, does it?" Jack observed. North nodded his head in silent agreement. "Anyway, I've got to go give Greenland some snow. Bye North!"

It was hard, Jack decided. But often the best things are thing you have to work towards.


	2. Chapter 2: Nightmares of a Winter Spirit

Nightmares of a Winter Spirit.

Sandy would be lying if he said - signed - whatever that he disliked Jack Frost. In fact, he adored the Winter child. Why? He adored children obviously. It was basically a requirement for being a Guardian. So when Jack came to the next Guardian meeting nervous and jumpy, Sandy was understandably confused. Hadn't they moved past this stage already? He tugged at the Winter spirit's pant leg, and was scared when he looked down, flinching. So it was the Guardians themselves. Hurt flashed in his eyes. He showed a sand picture of Jack. Sand-Jack jumped slightly. He then formed a sand question mark.

"Huh? Oh, that's nothing Sandy." Sandy's eyes narrowed. "I swear!" It was just a nightmare that'd.. haunt him most likely for a long while! He'd dealt with bad and cringe-worthy things, like that one Vampire that liked rhyming. That had left him laughing for days! "I'll get my revenge wait and see, you can't escape from me!" Was one particularly memorable thing he'd said. Honestly, was the guy on something or was he just that stupid on his own?

Sandy gave up with a huff. It was clear he wouldn't get anything else from the cheery child and so he gave up and went back to sipping his eggnog and watching as North and Bunny had their usual spat. It wouldn't be so dreary if Tooth floated closer to the ground so he could get her attention, but she was at least three feet above his reach. Jack could reach her with no trouble thanks to Wind and North and Bunny were both tall enough to reach her. Sandy sighed silently. Being short and silent wasn't a good idea. At all.

Jack's eyes caught his, and the Sandman saw hurt and fear.

"Mate, Easter is better then Christmas, akay?" Bunny's sharp voice snapped them out of their bored daze and fearful haze respectively.

"Guys, I'm leaving." Jack said nervously, causing Tooth and Sandy to look at him in sympathy and North to wave his hand.

"Yes, you do that, I deal weeth overgrown rabbit." North then went back to arguing with the irate Easter Bunny.

Sandy decided to take a page out of Jack's book and leave. Honestly, these weren't even meetings anymore. It was just Sandy drinking eggnog, North and Bunny arguing as Tooth talked animatedly to her fairy helpers and Jack sat around and was bored. Nothing more, nothing less.

OoO

Jack went back to his lake. Well it wasn't his but he liked to think it was. He landed deftly on a tree and allowed himself to fall the few meters down to the bottom. "Thanks, Wind!" He called. The wind blew around him, almost like a caress.

Jack laughed. He loved Wind. Not romantically, of course. Wind was a friend and companion, nothing more. As he thought about the entity, he unconsciously found himself at the edge of the icy lake. He shuddered slightly, remembering his nightmare. In it, his sister and him had been skating, like his last human memory. His sister watched as he fell through, saying one of the two things that would surely haunt him for at lest a month.

" _You're worthless, pathetic. I hate you."_

And the emotion, _the hate_ was so there, so real, so very, truly real in her eyes that it _hurt_ , made his heart ache. And after that, the Guardians were there, not to comfort him like he so desperately hoped, but to make fun of him.

" _That kid's not cut out to be a Guardian."_

" _He ees worthless."_

" _He's a nasty little bugger."_

And their words had hurt much more then he would have liked to admit. Somehow, he garnered a scratch to his hand. He stared at the pale flesh that was his bony hand, focusing on a light pink scar that he didn't feel, yet it hurt anyway because god damn it that stupid nightmare made **everything** hurt. Even this stupid scar that was barely a quarter of an inch long. "God darn you, Pitch." He mumbled, because it obviously had to be the stupid Boogeyman that gave him this nightmare. Surely. Completely, utterly, totally, fully and wholly the Boogeyman. Surely it was Pitch that gave him a nightmare so horrible he couldn't see anything clearly, just a blurred, unfocused jumble of lines and colors and shapes, _his_ fault that he was upset enough to feel like he'd been put through hell and back three times.

OoO

Sandy decided to visit the winter spirit. It was a totally random decision, but one he intended to follow through. Besides, he was sure Jack would appreciate the company. So he made a bi-plane and went to Burgess, Pennsylvania, the sight of Jack's unofficial home. He was greeted by the most worrying thing he'd seen in the last two months or so. Jack was sitting on the ground, eyes unfocused and brimming with tears. Sandy walked over to the distraught immortal. Once cerulean blue eyes landed on him, even unfocused as they were, he gave a smile, hoping to comfort him. Jack just turned his head away, and Sandy frowned, mind racing a million miles a minute. Jack had looked so lost, so scarred and upset that it sent the normally calm dream-weaver into a near panic attack.

Sandy looked at the shaking form before him, trying so very hard to figure out what had happened. Jack's form shook, and as Sandy crept closer, he could her words. Words that made his heart break, shatter into a billion pieces.

"Please- no- Sandy, Bunny please- I – I thought we were friends North! R-Remember?" Jack's voice was so extremely broken at the end. "We- We carved together!" He continued in a small voice, and then flinched again.

OoO

Jack begged the other four Guardians to remember, to think about the fun times they had together. He was then forcefully extracted from his thoughts by a sharp tug. He jolted to reality to find Sandy staring at him, and with the nightmare still fresh in his mind, he flinched back. But then arms were hugging him, a silent comfort that no, for once he didn't have to stay in that haze anymore, that he had friends and family who would go through hell to see him happy.

That for once, he had the comfort of the dream weaver


	3. Chapter 3: Pokemon

**A quick thing about Pokémon because I'm** _ **obsessed**_ **with Pokémon lately.**

"Hey kiddo, what are you doing?" Jack asked as he saw Jamie staring, fascinated at a weird screen.

"Sshhh Jack! I'm almost a Pokémon Master!" Jamie called distractedly. "C'mon, c'mon you got this Mimikyu! Shadow ball!" Jack blinked. A ball made of shadows? A Mimic-you? What was Jamie _doing_? His first believer suddenly jumped up. "Yes!" He shouted. "SOPH I'M A POKEMON MASTER NOW!" He yelled. Jack rubbed his ears. That was yelled for Sophie, but everyone in the house could hear it. Especially Jack, since he was in the room.

"A Poke mon master?" Jack couldn't be more confused if he tried. "A ball made of shadows?" He asked bewilderedly. "What were you doing, Jamie?"

"I was playing Pokémon, of course." His first believer beamed up at Jack.

"So, explain it to me." He requested, sapphire eyes widening with excitement, his trusty staff placed gently on Jamie's bed.

"Okay, so Pokémon is short for Pocket Monsters. You start out in your house, about to receive your first Pokémon…" And Jamie launched into an explanation of the game that so many people enjoy. Jack's eyes were sparkling with excitement.

"Right, can you load up a save file? I'm going to be a Master!" And true to his words, he became one, catching all the Pokémon that caught his eye for one reason or another. "I'M A MASTER NOW!" He screamed in triumph a few hours later. "I have to show this to the others!"

A few hours later, this could be heard in North's workshop. "I AM DE MASTER!"

"I WAS ONE FIRST!"

"SHUT UP, YER ALL PRATS, I NEED TO- YES! I'M THE MASTER!"

A furious whirlwind of sand caught them off guard.

"THAT'S RIGHT, YOU NEVER STOOD A CHANCE!" Tooth cried out triumphantly.


	4. Chapter 4: Dates

Something was clearly bothering his first believer, and by Manny, Jack would find out what. "Hey kiddo, what's up? You seem kind of distracted."

"It- it's really nothing!" Jamie stuttered.

"Yeah and I'm Zeus now." Jack snorted. "Honestly kid, you're obvious." He made himself comfy on Jamie's bed, watching as the kid scrambled around his room to reveal… a piece of paper? "Jamie, what's going-" The winter spirit was cut off by an impatient Bennett child.

"I'm trying to get Pippa to be my girlfriend, okay? I was kind of hoping you wouldn't be here so I wouldn't get teased, but you're here, so-" Jamie forcibly stopped himself. "Err, sorry Jack. I'm sure you don't want to hear it." 

Jack shook his head "Course I wanna hear it, Jamie. Now, what's this about asking Pippa on a date?" He asked, smirking slyly.

Jamie turned a magnitude of colors, a light pink that was quickly turning tomato red, and then an ashen grey that would've had any ghost jealous. "I- I was going to ask her at-" He stopped, turning bright red again. "our special place." He spoke the words 'our special place' with such reverence it had Jack bewildered.

"Jamie, kiddo, what's this 'special place'?" He asked curiously, abandoning Jamie's bed to float six inches above the ground, "and why is it special?" Jamie was obviously flustered, especially when he started speaking.

"Pip and I, we've known each other since we were born." Jamie started. "And so, obviously we have some hang-out places. One of them is just behind our school, you know, the stone building Claude and Caleb got you to run through with icicles one day? Obviously it did nothing but-" Jamie realized that he was rambling unnecessarily and cut himself off. "Anyway, I want to ask her out then, just because it brings back memories, you know?" Jack did know, and he reassured the Bennett child of that before he delivered his (obviously needed) advice to the flustered ten year old.

"It's a good plan, but I need specifics here, kiddo. When and how? Is there going to be flowers involved? Chocolates? A teddy bear?" He shot these questions one after the other, and Jamie was looking at him bewilderedly.

"How do you know so much about this, Jack?" He questioned. "You seem very well-versed in the world of romance and asking people out on dates."

Jack shrugged, a wry smile on his lips and sapphire eyes glinting with ill-contained amusement. "I'm three hundred Jamie. And besides, I was a teen when I got turned into Jack Frost anyways." Jamie still stared at him, so Jack decided that this was a good enough time to ask him if he wanted to have a snowball fight to take his mind off these girl induced thoughts. He agreed readily, as long as Jack gave his verdict for the rest of his plans. The winter teen saw no problems with this plan, and agreed to look through the kid's date planning.

OoO

Pippa was having a decent day, she supposed. It was the weekend, her homework was done, and she was five dollars more affluent. Oh, who was she kidding? Her day was one hundred percent incredible. "Pippa!" Jamie called. Her day just got one hundred and ten percent incredible now.

"Hey Jamie, what's up?" She flashed him a cheerful grin, hoping against hope he wanted to have a snowball fight because Jack was in town. She had no Idea that even though Jack was in town, he wanted to do something way more intimate than a snowball fight. He seemed nervous, so her hopes of a snowball fight crashed into a figurative steel wall.

"Um, I was hoping you'd- hang out with me, as more then friends, you know?" He said this quickly, all in one breath, but Pippa had no problems hearing and understanding his words.

"Yeah! Sure! I mean um, yeah, of course." Pippa was on cloud nine. The boy she'd been crushing on had just asked her out, in _their_ special place! "So, um, what are we doing on the date, exactly?" The word date felt weird in her mouth. It was a good weird of course, but it was weird nonetheless.

"Uh, I was thinking popcorn and your favorite movie at my house tomorrow?" She nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, okay! See you tomorrow Jamie." Then she summoned up all of her courage and kissed Jamie on the cheek.

The next day, Pippa dressed in a cozy but still pretty top and some jeans, making sure to slip on a thick enough coat to deal with the frigidity. "Oh, look at my baby on her first date!" Her mother fussed happily.

"MOM!" Pippa was flushed, trying to get out of her mother's death grip. "Mom, I have to go or I'll be late!" She said urgently. Her mother let her go.

"Be back by five sweetie!" Her mother called after her retreating figure. "Oh, they grow up so fast." She sighed happily. "It feels like just yesterday I was bringing her back from the hospital!" Pippa's mother then turned and walked back into the house, still mumbling with satisfaction.

Pippa knocked on the Bennett's door, filled with nerves and anticipation. Jamie's mother opened the door and with an "Oh, Pippa! Jamie's been chattering about this all day! Do come in, dear." She was standing in the home she knew so well. Except this time, it was because it was a date, and not one of the visits she would normally make.

Her breath caught when she spotted Jamie. He was dressed casually enough, but he looked really, really attractive. "Hey Jamie!" She grinned shyly at him, trying to remove the tension.

"Hey Pippa! C'mon, I have the movie in and ready to go." She sat next to Jamie, making herself snug. It was only halfway through the movie when she got enough bravery to put her head on his shoulder. He hesitantly put his arm around her, and they stayed snuggled up to each other until the movie ended.

"I had fun, Jamie." She smiled at him.

"Yeah, me too. Do you want to go on another date?" He was nervous again, so she kissed him to shut him up.

"Sure, lover boy."


	5. Chapter 5: Better

This was one of those days. Sadness. Despair. Grief. They clutched at him, made his very soul ache with deeply buried soreness. He thought he had them under control. He was wrong. He was wrong and now he ached deeply. He ached and oh Manny it hurt, make it stop, please please make it stop. As if to make a mockery out of him, the pain cut deeper, ignoring his desperate pleas, ignoring the chanted mantra of prayers for the sting and the throbbing to stop. More misery. More desolation, surging up in waves and waves of agonistic torment. "Please, please, stop it, make it stop!" He begged lethargically. "Please…"

This continued on for another hour and a half before Jack gave up. He lay there for what must have been a thousand years, but in reality was nothing more then a few scant seconds. He knew, somewhere in his anguish addled mind the reality of the situation. He was unwilling to accept this reality, however and so told himself that yes, it was a thousand years. Around him was an almost corporeal aura of sadness. This happened once every one hundred years or so. And when that happened, he usually just allowed himself to fall down into a snow drift and wait out the misery. _But then_ , he thought with a wry smile. _I'm always sad, I just manage to hide it well enough that no one notices_. With a nearly tacit groan, he tried to burrow deeper into the comfortingly chilly snow. Finally getting comfortable once more, he tried to sleep off the pain. He was nearing the blissful nothingness now. He thanked every last God and Goddess out there. After taking extra care to thank every last one out there, he lost himself to a flight of the imagination. In the dream, the Guardians' faces appeared, distorted and yet crystal clear. They grinned at him and though Bunny smirked instead, he didn't mind all too much. North laughed. "Come, you join us, yes?" He called towards Jack. The other Guardians murmurs of agreement reached his ears, and he beamed.

They were all sat in North's workshop. He flopped himself down on the beanbag they pointed to. For a time, everyone was at ease, but then, a surprising thing happened. Tooth cried out in shock. "Tooth? What's wrong?" Jack questioned, cobalt eyes widening in abrupt alarm. "Is there something-" He was cut off by a gooey substance falling from the sky. He dodged it adroitly. "What is this stuff?" He stared critically at the goop.

"It's goo, Frost." Said Bunny, who stared at the gunk. "More exactly, it's the most disgusting goo I've ever seen." He stared in slight disgust at the goo, which was the most revolting green color Jack had ever seen in his relatively short existence.

Jack also stared at the goopy puddle, which was rapidly changing into a – still disgusting - brown color. "Is there a reason-" He cut himself off, feeling his palm impact with his forehead. "North," He turned his attention towards the Guardian of wonder. "I'm almost certain the elves messed around with your chemical store and mixed it with the glob and tried to prank us with it." As he spoke, he turned his concentration above them, and there they were, two elves shoving each other and presumably arguing. As he and the other Guardians were about to confront the elves, he was roused into wakefulness by dainty fingers brushing his cold cheeks and concerned mauve eyes staring at him.

"Sweet Tooth?" And with that, the depression took hold once more. He shivered, trying desperately to go back into that beautiful, wonderful amazing, perfect, flawless, magnificent, faultless dream. "Sweet Tooth, talk to me!" Tooth took hold of the sides of his face, forcing his eyes to open from their distressed attempts. "What happened there, Jack?" She implored in trepidation.

Jack trembled again, trying once more in a fraught haze to go back to that dream, so close, and yet, so far. Too far. He sighed, the breath misting over. "You shouldn't be here." He said. "Go. It's not important," He said, brushing hoary, disheveled locks to the side. When Tooth went to say something, he said, "go, I'll tell you once you're warmed up." She scanned his face for deception, and finding none, she flittered back to the Tooth Palace.

She checked a few clusters of Fairies were doing their jobs. They squeaked in such a way as if to say, you, mama, are being silly. She flew over to the Palace doors, watching as Jack descended from the wind's airy hold. He waved at her, sending a lackadaisical attempt at a smile. She frowned for a negligible few seconds, before giving her own attempt at a nonchalant smile. She beckoned him forward, and he went without much attempt at excusing himself, as he normally would.

She watched as he sprawled himself on one of the couches in the Palace with a offhand grace that few ever achieve in their lives. Her eyes narrowed at seeing the frozen tear tracks on his face. "Why were you crying?" She asked apprehensively.

"No reason, Tooth." He said, starting the game that would happen every time she caught him crying, a grand total of three times. "Just- just miss my family is all." (And being seen by all the children. He added mentally).

"Jackson Overland Frost, you tell me why you were crying in full detail or I swear to Manny I will throttle you." She said, glaring full mother mode on our favorite Winter child. Her hands were on her hips, she was frowning and trying her best to stare at his soul through the blue jacket and white undershirt. She was almost succeeding, too. Jack put his hands in his pockets and had his head bowed low.

"You want to know, Tooth?" He almost hissed. "You want to know? Fine! I'll tell you." He stopped here, taking a deep breath before continuing on. "I have these stupid breakdowns once every century." He said, glaring at her suddenly, his eyes icy blue. "I break down, I beg, I suffer wave after wave after tsunami of emotions. Most of them centered around melancholy and anger and desperation to have one person notice me, one person notice the way I slave over every single frost, every single snowfall, how I wish for one person to notice me and say 'hey, that's Jack Frost." His lips turned up into a small, sardonic smile. "But of course you don't understand that, do you? You haven't had millions of kids walk through you while you beg for one person to see that you're right there, on your knees, totally throwing all dignity you have to the wind, do you? No, you just fly around like some sort of army general, and you haven't interacted with kids since before I was born!" He said in a lethal quiet tone. "And you take it all for granted." He was shaking, silent sobs wracked his lithe frame as he poured out all of the emotions he was trying so very hard to conceal. "You don't even stop and have a chat with other spirits, no, you just stay here and let all your fairy helpers do what everyone thinks you do." He seethed. "If you had stopped your oh so important task of commanding your Fairy helpers, and actually talked to other, unseen spirits like the Halloween twins, everyone would respect you more and-" He cut himself off forcibly. "Sorry Tooth, I'll take my leave." He said quietly, leaving a shocked Tooth Fairy to digest his ad lib speech.

She pondered the speech. She tried to put herself in Jack's shoes and found herself holding back tears as she imagined a couple million kids walking through her, laughing because it'll be Easter in a few months. She found herself actually sniffling. "Oh, Jack, Sweet Tooth- I- I- h- how? W- why-?" She managed to say tearfully. "I couldn't do that if I tried and you just- endured it. For three hundred years. Three centuries. You're stronger than I am." She said, fluttering towards her private quarters. "And you looked so- so hurt and I- oh Sweet Tooth, I am so sorry." She said, wiping her lavender eyes, her small hand bringing back a brackish fluid she hadn't felt herself make.

She was deplorable, really. She was a warrior queen, she was self-important, she wasn't as strong as any unseen spirit had to be, she had sat on a throne made of her arrogance for centuries. They all had. All of them except Jackson Overland Frost. Where she was a warrior, he was a trickster. Where she was self-important, he was self-sacrificing. Where she was weak, he was strong. Where she was deplorable, he was commendable. She sighed, allowing herself to lose herself to pity for a minute. _No_. She scolded herself. _I am better. I will be better. For myself, and for Jack.  
_


	6. Chapter 6: Brothers

Aster knows that Jack isn't a bad kid – he knows it better than most beings, Spirit or no. He knows. But there is just something – a gleam in pallid icy blue eyes that leaves him snappy and disrespectful.

And oh, speak of the devil. "Hey 'Roo!" Comes the full of life voice of the Winter Spirit that besets his thoughts.

He grunts "Hey." He offers, letting himself fall on the grassy and yet hoary ground. Jack follows suit, landing on the ground, leaning offhandedly on his staff.

"Hey, Bunny?" Another grunt. "Can – can I –" He looks like he is nervous. "I kinda ran into Aviva earlier and I need to hide." Aster lets out an amused chortle. "So… uh, can I – hide… here?" He asks, fiddling with the hem of that careworn hooded jacket he always wore.

There is silence for a second as Aster lets the words sink in. "Yeah, sure Frostbite." He agrees. He hears the winter spirit gasp quietly, a sigh of relief and thankfulness.

"Thank you." He says, looking Aster in the eye, sapphire meeting emerald. The warrior nods faintly.

"Yer welcome Frostbite." Aster answers, before taking out a paintbrush and grasping one of the googies. He allows himself to focus on the paint river, the rushing paint a sound very familiar to the Guardian of Hope. Jack regards his work curiously, but says nothing, instead choosing to admire Aster's home with astonishment. Aster dips a brush into a light cherry paint, painting the googie masterfully with even strokes. The silence stretches on, and he knows it is only a matter of time before Jack cracks and says something.

"Your home is nice." Jack says contemplatively. "It's very peaceful."

"Yeah," Aster agrees. "it's nice ta know yeh've got sum sense 'n yeh, Frosty." He teases gently. Jack lets out an indignant sound.

"Oi! I'm not an idiot!" He says in annoyance. Bunny snorts, reaching out a limb to mess up his hair.

"Sure yer not," He murmurs, directing his concentration back to the googie he was painting before. "an' Christmas is better than Easter." Comfortable silence settles in until he finishes his googie, an adequate one. (it is actually really very good but Aster was – and is a perfectionist when it comes to these googies).

"Sorry Bunny," Jack says, and at his wary look, lifts his hands up in surrender. "I mean, for '68 and all that."

He relaxes. "Oh. Well, yer fergivin, Frosty. 'm sorry too. I know yer not that bad now." Jack blinks, obviously not expecting him to apologize, because he is a persistent warrior Pooka and all that. He chuckled. "No need ta look so shocked." He says.

"Roo you're like, some big warrior dude who _never_ apologizes, 'course I gotta look shocked." He answers casually, frost literally clinging to the places he touches. He sweeps his arms into this larger-than-life pose.

Aster covers up a snicker (or tries to). "Jack, what are yeh doin'?" He asks through his quiet laughter.

The kid looks indignant. "It's an awesome pose!" He cries, exasperated.

"Sure, akay," He is still snickering. "absolutely." He reaches out a paw to ruffle Jack's hair. "Adorable, kid." Jack scowls at him.

"I resent that!"

"No, yeh represent that." Aster retorts.

"I didn't know you had a sense of humor." Jack grumbles good-naturedly.

"Yeah, well not many folk do, Frostbite." Bunny shoots back, raising an almost indistinguishable eyebrow.

"I'm so honored, Roo." Jack says sarcastically, ignoring Aster's scowl. "O great and powerful one," He continues mockingly. "I, Jackson Overland Frost, am honored that you decided to grace me with your presence!" He shouts, doing another theatrical pose.

"Seriously?" Bunny grumbles, shooting him a fixed stare. Jack grins, barely containing his laughter.

"Yep!" He grins. "I'm not gonna stop it with the theatrics unless you tell me that I, Jackson Overland Frost, am the best being in the whole entire world." He declares, doing another over-the-top pose to prove his point (and because it is fun). Bunny grumbles slightly.

"I ain't doin' it."

Jack's grin grows wider. "Good! I like doing these pose thingies!" He tells Aster. "And you, Sir Pooka, are helping me have a reason to do that." He says in a surprisingly all right British accent.

"Christ Frost," Bunny cries, surprised. "when'd ya get good at accents?"

Jack shrugs. "I like Brits," He says. "they're fun to mess around with, so I learned how to speak like one." He explains, moving around to sit on Bunny's left, in contrast to his earlier position of a few feet at the back of him.

"Makes sense fer ya I guess, Frosty." He says fondly. "Only yeh'd do that." He said, messing up his hair even more.

Jack scowls, before saying, "Bunny my good sir, you're messing with a true work of art." In a British accent again.

"I am, am I?" He asks. Jack nods forcefully. "Well that's too bad then, isn't it?" Jack gapes at him, looking like a fish. He chuckles. "Your face is amusin' Jack–"

"Oi! My face is _awe-inspiring_ thank you very much!" Their repartee continues for a few hours, acting like brothers, and they both know that's what they are – brothers. It's what they are and what they always will be.

A few hours later, Bunny doesn't know _how_ it happens, but they are leaning on each other, a sleepy, contented silence hanging around them in a nearly palpable atmosphere.

"Bunny?"

"Hmm?" Aster replies sleepily, cracking his eyes open a bit.

"Thank–" Jack yawns. "thank you."

"I told yeh b'fore, yer welcome, Frostbite." Aster replies sleepily, before finally dozing off. They sleep under the sun, frost and grass underneath their forms, and tiny smiles on both of their faces. They're brothers, it's what they were, what they always, _always_ will be.


	7. Chapter 7: Pitch and Jack

_Invisible._ He ponders as he stares at his pale hand. _I'm invisible._ Sitting in this transient shelter, he thinks – he doesn't languish, no, not at all here. He has a distinctive place for that. _What's it like to be discernible – seeable?_ He wonders, hugging his knees to his chest. _I'd like to know._

 _ **Just because you'd like to, doesn't mean you will.**_ Taunts a voice. It scorns him, mocks his hopes and encourages his fears.

"Will you shut up and get out of my head?!" Jack scowled, glaring at nothing.

 _ **Ooh, have I hit a nerve? How fun…**_ Cackled the voice harshly. _**Mm, don't imagine so. I'll be here forever, Jack.**_

Jack shivered slightly. "Okay, creepy much?" He asked.

 _ **Perhaps…**_ The voice agreed, and Jack suddenly saw a flash of black, and a contemptuous smile.

Jack felt a shiver go down his spine. __"Who – who are you?" He asked, feeling tense.

 _ **Why, Pitch Black of course.**_


	8. Chapter 8: Meetings

The first time they meet, it is Easter of 1968 and Jack has just accidently caused a snowstorm. He hides his shame with a grin, trying not to make a face. He is about to leave, to scold himself for being so _dense_ and then he comes into the picture.

E. Aster Bunnymund. His 6'1 frame is tall, _tall_ and so threatening Jack is scared. His fists are clenched, mossy green eyes hard and full of dislike so potent it may as well be hatred. Jack's shame increases twice over. Then the insults come flying in. Aster's fists are shaking, and he shouts. Those shouts stay with him for a long, long time. "DON'T YA KNOW WHEN YER NOT WANTED?" He shouts, anger fizzling and crackling around his furry form. "LEAVE, YA WORTHLESS WASTE O' SPACE!"

His grin fades. His hood, normally down, is up and Jack is looking down at the snow-covered ground. He is halfway to cowering when the words hit home. He says nothing for a few seconds, before stating, "Okay," quietly and floating off.

Aster sinks to the floor, anger–half-hatred bubbling in his veins. How dare that bloody imbecile try to ruin Easter? His mind is made up in that instant. He hates Jack Frost.

* * *

The second time they meet, Aster is still annoyed. Infuriated, even. It is 1990, a Sunday at about 2:36 PM. Jack is in Australia, topping off a couple mountains because hey ho, that's his job, you know? Aster knows this, somewhere in his mind, the little reasonable part he normally listens to but _god,_ that stupid little Frost blighter makes him mad. Incensed, because this is his turf and what the bloody hell is he doing here, he confronts him. "G'day, mate," He says, letting his Australian out. "Visitin' Down Under, then?" He asks, almost conversationally.

The kid looks up from what he was doing, flashing a grin that's smaller than normal. Aster is fine with this. "Yep! It's my job, y'know." Azure eyes are guarded, the kid is ready to take off. Aster is also fine with this. "Shouldn't you be working too? I thought you'd be–" He merely raises an eyebrow.

"I've got time." He says simply. The kid nods.

"Okay then–"

He cuts across him again. "I guess I'll see ya 'round, Frost. Try not ta ruin this Easter too." He says resentfully.

An offended look and a quiet acknowledgement. Then Frost leaves again, and so does Bunny. He has no further business here.

* * *

The third time they meet, Jack is at an alleyway, trying not to be in a bad mood. There's no such thing as Jack Frost, he remembers acrimoniously. Just a story bound character who nips at noses.

Not real.

And then the rabbit comes, looking smug and aloof. "G'day mate," He repeats, with a full of himself tone that just grates on Jack's already frayed nerves. And then he gets tossed into a sack. A _sack_ of all things. He feels affronted, but before he can say anything, there's a ceremony that he refuses to have. And then, the Guardians drag him off to go fight Pitch. He figures out he can see his _mortal memories_ and oh, maybe this trip isn't too awful after all, and he gets his first believer and –

And then…

Sandy _dies_. Sandy, by far his favorite member out of this senseless group, dies. He feels, hollow, upset… there's a myriad of words he can think of that describe his feelings, none of them positive.

So he feels. He feels his anger, the heart-wrenching loss he feels, he feels his confusion, his shock, his determination, his pride, his – maybe kinda sort-of friendship with his maybe fellow Guardians, he feels.

And then Sandy is back and oh god Pitch is gone and he's becoming a Guardian and he feels as though this is a dream, a wonderful, corrupted, twisted nightmare disguised as his most sought after dream and everything is in fast-forward.

* * *

And the fourth time they meet it is a few hours before his first monthly Guardian meeting. There is still a self-satisfied look in his eye but he isn't unreachable anymore. They're equals, and he has a fleeting urge to run, but then he realizes that Bunny looks almost _apologetic._

Jack isn't quite so sure how to feel about that, so he lets an easy-going grin fall onto his face. "Hey Kangaroo," He greets. He swears he sees Bunny's mouth twitch upwards, but it is only momentary.

"Hey," He greets back. "Look, Jackie, 'm sorry. 'm sorry that I was so rude ta ya earlier but ya did cause a blizzard and ruin Easter that year and I'm a stubborn warrior Pooka and – I'm sorry."

Jack says nothing for a few seconds. "It's fine. Really."

Bunny seems to hang down in his relief. "Thanks, Frost, yer a real pal." He says eventually, grin becoming more real and less apologetic. "But don't expect me ta apologize fer that again, ya hear me?" He asks sternly.

"Gotcha, no forcing big warrior dude with boomerangs to apologize." He agrees.

Bunny raises an eyebrow. "Big warrior dude with boomerangs?" He repeats slash asks.

"Yep!" Jack confirms. "Big warrior dude with boomerangs." He flicks his staff at a tree, not really paying attention. The fern-like frost spreads on the trunk, weaving beautiful, _beautiful_ patterns and how the hell did Bunny never noticed how gorgeous the frost is?

"That's nice." He declares, pointing at the tree.

"You think so? Thanks!" Jack is flushed, a bluish tint to his skin that Bunny would have been worried about had it been any other person.

"Yeah, I think so."

The fourth time they meet is very different indeed. They're friends now, and Jack doesn't feel the need to fly away. Bunny doesn't hate him anymore, and they both seem to have an unspoken agreement of their role to one another. They've become brothers, in both senses of the word.

The fourth time they meet is the first proper time they meet.


	9. Chapter 9: A boy needs his father,

**Hey, guys! So I asked an IRL friend to give me a prompt. Here we go!**

 **(Also my charger broke and I feel super guilty for not updating ha-ha that's also why this is so very short T.T)**

Prompt: "A boy needs his father."

Jack had first heard a father say this some twenty-three years after rising from the lake he called home. "A boy needs his father," The wiry man who'd exclaimed this ruffled the russet head of a boy next to him. "I like to think I'm a good example to you, Collin–"

"You are, Pop!" The boy–Collin, cried out. "You tell me stories and comfort me whenever I'm sad, you're there for me, just like Mama is!"

The man beamed. "Thank you kindly, Coll." He said.

"You're welcome, Pop!" Collin replied brightly.

Jack stared at the pair, icy blue eyes wide and brimming with tears. "Where–where's my father, then?" He wondered aloud. "I'm a boy, right? I need a father – right?" He asked desperately, trying not to remember how he had no one–no one to comfort him whenever he was sad, and no mother nor father to count on. He was alone, completely alone.

The revelation stung even more as he watched Collin and his father laugh and joke, Collin's father carrying the little four-year-old on his shoulders. "Pop, I'm flying!" Collin cried as his father stood from his position on their couch.

"You sure are, kiddo!"

Jack felt his heart break. Why couldn't he have a father? He didn't understand it. Collin seemed perfectly at ease with his, flawed though the man might've been. But perhaps that was love, accepting a person's flaws and embracing their strengths. Jack would've promised to do that in a heartbeat, _half a heartbeat_ if it meant he wouldn't be so completely _alone_ , and as he watched Collin and his father, he reached a consensus with himself. He would embrace anyone who wanted to be his friend with open arms.

(Of course, that promise fell eighty or so years later, but Jack didn't know that yet).

Jack flew away from Collin and the man after that, tears flowing freely down his insipid face.

He landed in a snowbank somewhere–Jack didn't bother to remember where–bawling and trying to figure out _why_.

Why did Collin the four-year-old get a father, and Jack the twenty-three-year-old not? It made no sense to the winter spirit, and yet that was how the world worked. Jack hated it.

He didn't hate Collin, not in the least, and his father was just as blameless.

No, he hated this entire system. Hated, loathed, abhorred with a passion so energetic and – and bona fide that it surprised even him. He lay there sniffling, taking in the comforting presence of the snow. "How?" He asked himself miserably. "I want a dad!" Tears blurred his vision, making it hazy and impossible to make out. He lay there for what felt like ages but was really just ten minutes or so. He felt twenty shades of terrible. He got up, slowly, wincing as he did.

 _Ow_ , He decided. _That hurt_. Nothing physical – but the emotional lesions? They hurt like hell.

 _Hell, hell, hell_.

He'd suspected that they would, of course, but it was still painful, a jarring reminder of his forced émigré. (Yes, Jack knew fancy words. It was kinda hard not to when you had so much free time). He was still sore about it, so he cursed quietly to himself about the unfairness of it all – the unfairness of the fact that he – who slaved over making every last precious, beautiful snowflake the only one of its kind – couldn't get the familial love he craved – longed for.

He sighed, shaking his head to rid it of the snow that gathered on the top of his head. He shook his head again, this time to rid it of his depressing thoughts.

 _No thinking of that now, Frost_. he thought. _Don't think about it_.

* * *

The world was a fickle place, merciless and yet so pleasant Jack wondered if it was bipolar or something.

"Oi, don't linger Frostbite," Bunny called long ears twitching as he waited for the Winter sprite, an eyebrow raised slightly.

"Alright, alright! Jeez, you'd think we'd be more – I don't know… patient?" Jack drawled.

"Oi, shaddap, will ya?" Bunny face-palmed – face-pawed…? Ah, whatever.

Jack rolled his eyes but complied, floating gently into the Warren, spotting the others almost instantly.

"Jack!" North and Tooth chorused in greeting. Sandy waved, smiling benignly.

"Hey guys," Jack called out, grinning. "Nice ambiance, by the way, Roo."

"Thanks. C'mon." Aster roughly shoved down the annoyance at the nickname and plopped down on the grass with the others.

They all sat, and let themselves just relax and laugh.

Jack found himself laughing at one of North's remarks, and with a jolt he realized - this was his father, and his family surrounded him. He found he quite liked that


End file.
